US Treasury Bill Rates Dip to Lowest Since 2012

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction to the lowest levels since early 2012.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.030 percent, down from 0.040 percent last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.055 percent, down from 0.065 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.025 percent on Jan. 17, 2012. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.050 percent on Jan. 9, 2012.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.24, while a six-month bill sold for $9,997.22. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.030 percent for the three-month bills and 0.056 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, edged down to 0.13 percent last week, from 0.14 percent the previous week.